In the formation of pads for absorption of human exudate, the pads are commonly formed with a liquid- permeable bodyside member, an absorbent center section and a liquid-impermeable backing sheet or baffle. These pads, whether utilized as diapers, incontinent garments or feminine pads, all are subject to failure by leaking. While leaking may have several causes, such as an exhaustion of the absorbent capacity of the absorbent member, misplacement of the pad or inability to handle sudden surges of fluid, one common cause of leakage is the bending and twisting of the pad due to body movement of the wearer which deforms the pad such that it is no longer properly placed to absorb fluids.
To overcome the problem of the pads becoming misplaced, one solution has been to provide elasticized edges that will bear against the sides of the wearer. Earlier devices have relied on belts, support garments or underwear to hold the absorbent pads in place. It is proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,570,493--Olsson that an elastic deformable member be provided in the sanitary napkin that will be deformed when the pad is worn and urge the edges of the pad against the legs of the wearer.
Another method of preventing leakage has been to extend wings from the edge of the pad, such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,589,876--Van Tilburg, that aid in holding the pad in place by wrapping around the crotch section of the panty of the wearer. However, such pads are inconvenient to use and still are subject to bending and twisting during wearing by which they become permanently deformed. It has been proposed in European Patent Application 140,470 to provide a pad with a boat-shaped foam backing member that is resilient. However, such pads are bulky and remain subject to permanent deformation during wearing.
Therefore, there remains a need for a shaped pad for absorption of human exudate that will return to its desired shape after it has been deformed or twisted during wearing. Further, it is desirable that the pads return to shape even when wet or after being deformed for a lengthy period of time.